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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. present — there
  7. press — to push
  8. press — newspapers
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. press — a publisher
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. present — the time now
  19. swing — in golf
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bark — to shout
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. mine — for digging

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com